Find out why you should back up your info, where deleted files really go and more

Computers have become an essential part of our everyday lives, but a lot of their ins and outs are still a mystery to most users. That's why we rely so heavily on IT professionals. But when you're trying to recover an important document you accidentally trashed, or your computer won't boot up five minutes before an important presentation, calling a busy tech-support line may not be the quickest option. To help you help yourself, we spoke with the pros and found out nine things everyone needs to know about computers.

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1. Back up your files.
"When customers bring in computers that won't boot up, they're usually upset not because their machine isn't working, but because they can't access the five years' worth of photos they've saved on their hard drive," says Matt Dworkin, deputy of counter intelligence for Best Buy's Geek Squad. "I always say that your data is more important than the actual computer." To protect your items, back up your computer on a regular basis—once a week for personal files and every day for important work documents—in case your computer crashes. External hard drives make it easy to keep copies of your documents. Or, if you don't have a ton to save, copy data to a USB drive, recommends Franco Barbara, IT director at Fusion PR in New York City.

2. Be specific as possible when describing your problem to IT.
When your computer crashes right before you saved that huge document, or freezes up just when you need to send an important email, it's easy to freak out. "Panic is expected," says Eric Hobbs, president of Technology Associates in North Carolina. "But [be sure to] tell your story completely so that your IT professional has enough information to start fixing the problem right away." Dworkin insists that describing the exact error message you encountered is much more helpful than a vague "my computer won't turn on," which could indicate a variety of very different problems.

3. When you delete a file, it's not necessarily gone.
Some comforting and scary news: Even when you send files to your computer's recycling bin and then empty it, they're not always gone for good. According to Dworkin, trashing files tells your computer to forget how to find them; it doesn't obliterate them from the hard drive. Over time, the hard drive may add new data where that deleted item once lived, in which case your files won't be easily retrievable, but skilled pros can access them. The good news? That report for your boss that you slaved over and accidentally trashed may be salvageable. The bad news? Just because you deleted everything from your old laptop doesn't mean that a tech-savvy person can't access it. To be safe, always take your old machine to a professional to be wiped before you donate or dispose of it.

4. When in doubt, reboot.
Lost Internet connection? Microsoft Office acting sluggish? Before you do anything else, including calling for help, reboot your computer, advises Dworkin. Restarting your machine can clear up many of the common problems that cause your computer to act up. And when you're prompted to restart after installing a new program, heed the advice. It's often a precautionary measure, but sometimes software needs a reboot in order to initialize properly. "These days it only takes a minute or two, tops," says Dworkin.

5. Think before you click.
Viruses, which can do everything from slow down your system to pull personal information from your machine, are one of the biggest threats to computer users today. To reduce the risk of infection, Barbara urges you to be vigilant before you click on links, even if they come from friends. Because so many viruses are spread through URLs—oftentimes posted on social networking sites or sent to you from a friend's email or instant messaging account that has been hacked––it's essential to be careful about what you decide to view. If you aren't familiar with the website address or received a link from someone who normally doesn't send you emails, play it safe and don't click on it.

6. Photos and music probably aren't slowing down your computer.
A surplus of music, photos and files generally shouldn't affect how swiftly your Mac or PC is functioning. A lack of RAM (Random Access Memory)—which is what is used when programs are running––is what usually causes a frustratingly slow computer. To free up memory, try not to have a lot of applications running at the same time. But, warns Barbara, make sure you don't turn off your antivirus application, which is essential for protecting your machine from viruses. You can also purchase more memory––he advises checking out Crucial.com, which will help you figure out the type of memory your computer needs. Prices start around $30 for a two-pack of 1 GB memory (the max that computers allow is usually 16 GB), and while installing memory is fairly easy, it does require you to open up your computer's hardware. If you're nervous about it, head to the Geek Squad at Best Buy or EasyTech at Staples, where they will perform the service for a fee.

7. Your company's IT department can view the files and Web searches on your office computer.
IT professionals employed at offices do have access to employees' computers and can see what they're doing on them. But do they snoop? Nope. As Barbara jokingly puts it, "We're actually kind of busy trying to fix the things that you guys break." If there's a legal reason to check an employee's machine they will, but ethics—and a genuine lack of interest—will keep them from monitoring you. Just keep in mind that most company policies include the caveat that work email accounts and computers are not private, so don't do anything you wouldn't want your boss to see.

8. Be more creative with your passwords.
With today's sophisticated hackers, choosing your favorite vacation spot for a password just isn't going to cut it anymore. In fact, says Dworkin, there are programs that can very quickly run through every word in the dictionary in order to guess your password and break into your account. To create a strong password, he recommends using a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers. "The more complicated you can make it, the better." And since you won't want to write these passwords down, try creating a formula: Decide on a set combo of letters and numbers and alter one letter depending on which account it's for. If it's for Citibank, for example, change the third letter to a "C."

9. There are a lot of cool programs you aren't using.
If anyone knows about all the useful programs that are out there, it's the pros. But a lot of downloads are dangerous as well. So don't hesitate to ask an IT professional for suggestions on safe, useful programs. For example, Barbara loves YouSendIt.com, a free site that lets you store large images and files online so that friends can access them by simply clicking on a link sent to them. Hobbs vouches for Jing, a site that lets you take and share screen grabs and videos, and PrimoPDF, which easily converts files to PDFs.